Ted Nolan spoke to the teams website this afternoon on some player performances and tonights game. DiPietro will play the first two periods, Dubie to play the third tonight in Moncton.

"I thought Joey MacDonald played exceptionally well for us. Spiller also stepped up in that first game for us, and Blake Comeau played a strong game against Atlanta. Bootland stood out in the second game, but other than that there wasn't too much to talk about. Guys are just starting to find their way. You always look for guys who stick out. You have to stick out in order to make an impression."

"We have nine exhibition games, so we have a long way to go. We probably won't start fine-tuning the line combinations until the final three or four. It'll be nice to see guys like Comrie, Guerin, Fedotenko and Sillinger out there. Ricky will probably play the first two games, as opposed to half. Then Dubie will fill in for the third. It should be a fun game."

The teams chief amateur scout had this to contribute:

"Defenseman Jamie Fraser used his speed and skating effectively to stand out. You could see that his year in pro hockey last season really helped his development.

"The line of camp invitees Marc Cavosie, Tyler Haskins and prospect Tomas Marcinko energized the group. They matched the work ethic of the other team. Also, by the third period Jeremy Colliton and Sean Bentivoglio were playing much better."

Kimber Auerbach covers the Sound Tigers part of camp and touches on how some of the prospects and Jamie Fraser.

Moncton's Times and Transcript does a feature article on tonights NHL exhibition in Moncton with the Islanders and Canadians that basically tells us the local hockey writer is a Habfan and the Mayor is a Leafs fan.

More importantly Mike Comrie is nursing an injury.

The long-time local sports honcho wasn't entirely sure about the presence of Comrie, who is nursing a slight injury, but bottom line is confident Nolan will have most of his big guns -- including star goaltender Rick DiPietro -- deployed for tonight's big match at the Moncton Coliseum.

Among the quotes including an Islander spokesman and the Mayor of Moncton:

"(Islanders' general manager) Garth Snow said the team was going to be part of the community while they were here and they've done more than fulfil their promise to do that," said the mayor.

"It's been noticed all over the city and it started as soon as they got here on Friday with all the Islanders' players walking up Main Street and talking to the kids. It was a great way to kick it off and it's been wonderful all week."

Ted Nolan is featured in the Times and Transcript and talks about a lot of things but has this to say on the early predictions about the Islanders.

"The one thing I try not to do is concentrate on what other people say about you,'' he said.

"The thing that's important is whether you believe in yourself. I believe in this group of players and hopefully they believe in themselves.

"The NHL is not an easy league and there's no easy games, but if you do things right and you have the right attitude you never know what can happen. We're going to try to play to the top of our capabilities. If we do that, we'll be okay.''

Gordie Dwyerarticle is also featured today in the Times and Transcript.

"It's great," says Dwyer, when asked what it's like to try out for the Islanders in his home province. "The hometown feel is obviously a little more incentive, but it's also good to bring an NHL club to the Maritimes. There's a lot of great hockey fans here and a lot of great hockey people in the Maritimes."

"It is to a certain extent, but I've been around the league for a little while now, and this is my 12th NHL training camp," says Dwyer, as he chugs a sports drink after an Islanders scrimmage at the Tim Hortons 4-Ice Centre. "I know how the game works and I'm just out here trying to give my best and hopefully things work out."

The general manager knows first-hand what Dwyer brings to the table. "I'm very familiar with him because I played against him," says Snow, who retired as the Islanders' back-up goalie prior to last season and moved into the GM role. "I love the way he plays. He competes, he's a guy who leaves it all on the ice, he hits everything in sight and he could be a great role player."

Dwyer knows Islanders assistant coach Gerard Gallant and credits him with helping land the invitation to camp. But Gallant says Dwyer got the invite based on his own merit.

"He opened the door himself, because he worked so hard in the summertime," he says.

"My No. 1 goal is to play in the NHL and I wanted to take the quickest route to get there. I thought major junior would be the best way to develop my game.''

Islanders' assistant general manager Ryan Jankowski believes Gratchev has what it takes to some day be a solid third-line player in the NHL.

"He's a heart-and-soul guy,'' said Jankowski, who's also the Islanders director of amateur scouting. "He's a water bug, an energetic player. He's a hard-working guy that has the skills to contribute offensively. His commitment is strong at both ends of the ice."

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